UNILAB, Inc. joined the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 (FBWC23) by signing as a major local sponsor of the event the country is co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10.

As lead co-host, the Philippines will supervise 52 of the 92 games—including the final phase of the 32-team championship—at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Mall of Asia Arena and Philippine Arena.

Ushering UNILAB into the FBWC23 fold are Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) chairman Emeritus Manuel Pangilinan and president Alfredo S. Panlilio.

“We welcome UNILAB to this prestigious event that will be followed by nations throughout the world,” said Pangilinan, a key member of the powerful FIBA Central Board and chairman and CEO of Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

UNILAB Assistant Vice President Sunshine Aquino (from left), Division Vice President Kathrine Margaret Claire Martinez and Operating Vice President Jose Antonio Evangelista, Head of Operations John Lucas and Head of Marketing of JMC Joseph Barrios with the official mascot

“This partnership will go a long way in ensuring the success of our country’s efforts to co-host this grand event, a national endeavor if ever there was one since this marks only the second time in our history that we will be staging a world basketball championship,” he added.

Panlilio, a vital member of the FIBA Asia Board and president and CEO of PLDT and Smart Communications, meanwhile, praised UNILAB’S sense patriotism and generosity in coming to the aid of the national team and of the overall effort to promote the country’s leadership organization and hospitality.

“We thank UNILAB for agreeing to be part of this once in a lifetime experience, and to share in this global activity, this journey which in a sense is truly a merger of world caliber sports and big business,” Panlilio said.

Alexander Panlilio, Corporate Vice President of UNILAB, said that “partnering with the FBWC23, and being able to support our local athletes as they go up to compete against the best in the world, is an irresistible call.”

“Who better to support our Filipino athletes than fellow Filipinos like UNILAB?” Alexander Panlilio said. “Our mission is to care for them—as manifested in our company slogan Alagang UNILAB—and this is one way to do that.”

FBWC23 executive director David Crocker joined the SBP top brass in expressing gratitude to the major local sponsor for its involvement in the event.

“In order for something as huge as the FIBA Basketball World Cup to be successful, it must have great partnerships such as this,” Crocker said. “We welcome UNILAB on board and look forward to working closely with them in the lead up to basketball’s biggest international event.”